BEYOND HAVING THEM, KEEP THEM!

Exactly a week ago, I purchased a glass-top table-top gas cooker alongside a few other kitchen utensils and appliances. I was too busy to make full use of the cooker within the first two days after purchase, and then I went on a trip out of town for another four days, totaling six days. On the sixth night, as I returned home, the cooker was put into full use to prepare dinner and other culinary routines. Two hours after the cooker was used and the kitchen deserted, the entire glass-top of the cooker got shattered leaving my new cooker condemned.

Next morning, after I ascertained that nothing fell on the cooker, I quickly packed the cooker into the carton and took it back to the shop I purchased it from. The shop owner wasn’t around, but I lodged my complaint with his sales people who received the cooker from me after I presented my invoice. I immediately left for my office. Two hours later, I got a call from the shop owner asking me when I will have free time to re-visit the shop. I dashed down there during my break period; he asked for my explanation on how the cooker got damaged, and I did. Then he informed me that he had just called his suppliers and they expressed shock over the incidence, and they instructed him to inspect the appliance closely; while inspecting the cooker, he noticed there was a leakage [factory fault] underneath which overheated the glass-top and caused it to shatter.

My cooker got replaced without me spending an extra dime, and I felt very satisfied, but beyond that, I was stunned by such an outstanding customer service by a road side shop owner. It brought to my mind vital things which we often take for granted in dealing with our customers, like:

How seriously do you take customers’ complaints, do you put calls through to them, send them SMS or emails or letters, just to ensure that their issue is satisfactorily handled?

Do you genuinely seek feedback from customers, and do you put such feedbacks into use?

Do you have a checklist on how to improve your customer service?

Sometimes bulk SMS should just share tips or extend greetings to customers instead of always pushing for direct sales.

Every business wants to have more customers in order to grow, but beyond having more customers, it is of utmost importance to KEEP your customers!

About Author

He is a young Nigerian who is passionate about positive social change, youth leadership development, and the growth of SMEs in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Maple is the Principal Consultant of Mapemond Resources, a Brand Development and Idea Management Firm. He is the Founder of Fayples Nigeria, an online clothing store. He is also the initiator of the Southern Brands Project, an initiative aimed at inspiring creative enterprise among young Nigerians in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

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About SouthernBrands

Southern Brands Project is poised to promote the entrepreneurial activities and social initiatives of young people across the south-south region of Nigeria in the form of inspiring stories. These stories are shared on our various online platforms to a web audience both within and outside the south-south region while also serving as a forgein which ideas and values are created and reformed.